Gender Aspects of Shio Aragvispireli's Stories

Abstract

Gender, which has changed from a grammatical term to a socio-cultural construct, is a topical scientific problem and is being studied intensively from a culturological and scientific viewpoint. Gender theories developed considerably in XX century based on the studies by Simone de Beauvoir, Levi Strauss, Freud, Jacques Lacan, and other well-known scientists. These works cover philosophical, anthropological, psychological and historical aspects as well, and show the complexity and diversity of this issue, which is due to the fact that in this or that socio-economic and political system the stereotypes of female and male role models are closely linked to the values and cultural traditions of the society itself.

The issue of the status of women is particularly acute in the second half of the nineteenth century in America and Europe. The discussions around the gender situation in Georgia can also be observed from the mentioned time period. The topic of equality between women and men is discussed in the publicist letters by famous Georgian figures of the second half of XIX century: Ilia Chavchavadze, Akaki Tsereteli, Sergey Meskhi, Niko Nikoladze, etc. They respond to the letters of European thinkers, and consider the role of women and men in the advancement of society to be equally important and also analyze the difficult reality in this regard.

The complexity of the inevitable and necessary process of changing the social role of women in the society, which is full of traditional, and often of false clichés, has been well demonstrated by the Georgian literature of XIX-XX centuries.

In this regard, Shio Aragvispireli’s stories should be distinguished. The prose writer raises the issue of gender equality in a number of works, showing the established clichés in society, which are primarily related to moral issues and personal freedom. The writer reflects on overcoming social and psychological pressures, revealing that without going through a complex and contradictory process of changing conscious­ness no society can overcome the reality oriented to social inequality and false beliefs.